Liverpool Comment: David Ngog The Only Real Positive As Liverpool Make Hard Work Of Leeds United

The chants had just started. Slowly at first, but then becoming louder and louder as the entire South Stand at Elland Road joined in. First it was Steven Gerrard they were hailing, and then Fernando Torres - both of whom were warming up down in front of the Liverpool fans. No chants for Ryan Babel, none for local-lad Jay Spearing, and certainly none for Andrea Dossena.

It was an hour into this fiery, yet ultimately flat, League Cup tie, and the travelling Reds support had seen enough. Their side featured arguably only Jamie Carragher and Javier Mascherano from the first-choice line-up, and they were stuck in the middle of a pitched battle with Leeds United, current leaders of League One. Indeed, were it not for a debatable offside decision in the opening ten minutes, Rafa Benitez's second-string may well have been behind, as Luciano Becchio and Jermaine Beckford were flagged incorrectly as they sought to force Lubo Michalik's header over the line.

Lucky then, that David Ngog decided that now would be a good time to cap a stellar individual performance with a sharply-taken goal - his second of the season. The Frenchman had ploughed a lone furrow up front throughout, supported only intermittently by Babel, Spearing and Albert Riera, without a great deal of success. That was to change 24 minutes from time as he controlled Mascherano's less-than-ferocious effort instantly, before spinning sharply to sweep past Shane Higgs' right foot. It proved to be the only goal.

Benitez had taken the opportunity to shuffle his pack away from the microscope of the Premier League, with first starts of the season handed to Dossena, Spearing, Diego Cavalieri, Philipp Degen and the returning Fabio Aurelio. None really did much to improve their standing within the Reds' squad, with Dossena in particular given a torrid time by Leeds' Scottish winger Robert Snodgrass down the Liverpool left.

Spearing is a player most Liverpool fans would love to see succeed, due mainly to his Merseyside roots, but in an attacking midfield role his lack of pace and quality was exposed. Degen, Cavalieri and Sotirios Kyrgiakos performed decently in their respective roles but, with all in their late twenties/early thirties, they offer little by way of long-term investment. Babel remains infuriatingly inconsistent, offering searing pace but an equal lack of composure in the final third. Andriy Voronin, meanwhile, was kept on the substitutes bench throughout.

Ngog, on the other hand, is one player showing signs of improvement under Benitez. A tough away test in front of a hostile crowd, and against two experienced defenders in Michalik and Patrick Kisnorbo, represented a big ask for the former Paris St-Germain forward, but he passed with flying colours. With a Premier League goal against Stoke City to his name already this season, Ngog is stepping up to the role of Fernando Torres' understudy with relish. If only a few other fringe players were doing the same.

Neil Jones, Goal.com UK